Lean On Me
by ShizzyInTheHizzy
Summary: When Shizuo's brother dies and he has no one to go to, Izaya steps in and tries to comfort him. Angst and fluff. Rating will change to M further into the story.
1. Alone

A sudden burst of energy. A thoughtless mind. A cold heart.  
>All of which Shizuo Heiwajima was hit with simultaneously as he stared at the TV screen, the news reporter talking on and on. He heard none of it though.<p>

I must of heard wrong, right? T-There's no possible way...

The news reporter had just announced the death of Yuhei Hanejima.  
>Popular actor.<br>Shizuo Heiwajima's brother.  
>His hands shook, fingers sweeping over the buttons on his phone as he tried to call his brother. Shizuo's heart sank as it went straight to voice mail.<p>

I can't believe it. There's no way...No...K-Kasuka...

A sudden ache in his chest sent Shizuo crumbling to the floor, his legs giving out as hot tears stung his eyes.

Why hadn't he known? What happened? When did it happen? Why wasn't I there to say goodbye?

For a while, Shizuo just layed there, crying on the floor of his flat. He was devoid of feeling. Yuhei, otherwise known as Kasuka, was the only person Shizuo had left in his sad life. No parents around, no other siblings, no girlfriend or boyfriend.  
>Kasuka was all Shizuo had left.<br>And now he was gone too.

How much time had passed?  
>Shizuo had no idea, nor did he really care. Though figuring that Tom, his boss and "friend", would be worried if he didn't show up and work and didn't tell him that he would be absent, he decided to get up and check the time.<br>10 am.  
>He had been sobbing his heart out for 4 hours without even realizing time had even passed. Wiping the salty tears from his face, Shizuo grabbed his phone and walked out the door to his flat, making his way downtown to the usual meeting place for the debt collector and ex-bartender.<br>As he had expected, Tom was standing there, waiting. Before Shizuo could say another word, Tom had awkwardly pulled him into a hug, and releasing him as quickly as he had pulled him in.

"Shizuo! Oh thank god you're okay. I heard about your brother. Look, I'm really sorry for your loss. I know he meant the world to you..." Tom had stated, staring at the ground.

"T...Thank you, Tom. I don't really think that I can work today though, with the emotional state that I'm in. Sorry. I promise I'll make it up later, though" Shizuo mumbled, blinking back the resurfacing tears.  
>"No no, no need to worry about that! Take off as much as you need. I know this is very hard on you. Now go on, just let me know when you're going to resume working."<p>

"Really? Thank you Tom, this means a lot to me."  
>Shizuo thanked Tom once more before beginning the long walk back home, hands in his pockets and shoulders drooping low.<p>

"Well well well, if it isn't Shizu-chan~" a familiar annoying voice echoed down the almost empty street of Ikebukuro.  
>Not willing to reply, Shizuo just kept walking, ignoring his enemy.<p>

"...Huh? Well it's not like you to just simply walk away from me. What's wrong, Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked, following Shizuo quietly.

"Buzz off, flea. I'm not in the mood.." Shizuo mumbled, tears starting to form in his eyes, against Shizuo's will.

"Buzz off? Obviously there's something bothering you. Why not tell me about it? Eh? Eh?"  
>Izaya continued to follow him towards the west side of Ikebukuro, where Shizuo currently lived.<br>"Izaya, please, just leave me alone."

Please? Did the big brute, the "monster of ikebukuro" just say _please?_

Shizuo turned around to glare at Izaya with a face full of sorrow, a few tears rolling down his face.

"S...Shizu-chan? Are you crying? Oh come on, a big strong man like you doesn't cry! What happened? Did someone push you down in the sand box? Awhhh."

"Shut up flea! What don't you understand about 'leave me alone'?"

"Well maybe if you told me what happened, i'd stop joking ab-"

"My brother died, okay?"

With these words, more tears started to form as Shizuo sobbed quietly. So what if the flea saw him cry? He didn't care, too desensitized to feel anything.

A look of sympathy crossed Izaya's face, but was quickly replaced by his usual mask of seriousness.

"I...I had no idea..." he said quietly, scratching the back of his neck.  
>Shizuo wiped his eyes and glared at the raven haired man with a look that showed how he really felt inside – dark, emotionless, dead.<p>

Izaya shivered, locking eyes with the ex-bartender wordlessly.  
>For a while, the two just started, the tension in the air slowly fading.<p>

"Well...I...I'm sorry for your loss, Shizuo. I know that I would feel horrible if I ever lost one of my sisters" Izaya stated sincerely.

Shizuo noted the lack of the annoying nickname the louse had insisted on giving him.

Could Izaya actually feel sorry for him? Did he actually mean what he said?

"Eh..thank you, Izaya. I..I didn't find out until this morning and I just...I..." Shizuo was at a loss for words, not knowing exactly what to say.

He had never conversed with the informant before, and the topic at hand wasn't pleasant.

Izaya didn't want to admit it, but seeing the man infront of him now, Shizuo Heiwajima, cry and expose himself so carelessly – it made him sad.

Going against his better judgement, Izaya cleared the space between them with a few quick steps and wrapped his arms around the large man.  
>Shizuo was, to say the least, startled. Nonetheless, it didn't stop the tears that were flowing down his face.<br>Wrapping his own arms around the small man, he burried his face into his shoulder and cried, feeling more emotional than ever.

Izaya was in shock. Never would he believe that he would ever hug Shizuo. But to see the man cry, put down his guards and just poor his feelings out to someone else, this made him re-evaluate his views on the man.

He awkwardly tried to comfort Shizuo, rubbing his back with his cold hands.

"I..." Shizuo started, lifting his head from Izaya's shoulder and staring into his ruby colored eyes.

"You know I hate you, but I just can't stand to see you like this. I want the old Shizu-chan back, not this blubbering mess of a man. So i'm going to do you a favor, that I will benefit from as well. You're coming home with me. Think of me as your personal therapist, per say. I'll nurse your mental health back to normal and you'll be throwing vending machines at me again in no time! Sound good?" Izaya stated, flashing his signature cat-like smile.

"I don't know...I mean, you hate me. Are you sure you aren't just going to take me to your house and kill me?"

"Silly Shizu-chan, I wouldn't do that. I have too much fun playing with you! Now come along, it's probably much better than going back to your trashed apartment."

"...Fine. But as soon as you try anything weird, i'm leaving. This is weird, flea. Even for you."

"Well, I can't stand to see you cry, and you're my main source of entertainment! And if you're crying, you can't chase me, so i'm at a loss here."

And without another word, Izaya unwrapped his arms from around Shizuo and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking towards the other side of town.

Shizuo contemplated just turning around and continuing to walk home, but in the end gave up and trudged behind Izaya, following him to his apartment in Shinjuku.


	2. Sweet Dreams

"Welcome to my humble abode, Shizu-chan~!" Izaya sing-songed, unlocking the door to his apartment and walking in, arms spread wide as if to showcase the large room. Shizuo walked in the large apartment, yawning tiredly.

"'S pretty big…Damn flea, how do you even afford all this stuff?" Shizuo asked, walking over to the large, black leather sofa and sitting down. He smiled as he got comfortable, swinging an arm over his eyes and leaning his head against the back of the couch.

"Well, my employers do tend to pay me pretty well…And I always get the job done~ Nothing less that perfect is expected from the great Orihara Izaya!" he chirped. "Now, where were we. Go ahead and make yourself at home. I'll go make some tea, so try not to break anything while I'm gone."

And with that said, he waltzed out of the room towards the kitchen.

_Ah, maybe this isn't such a bad idea. It's a nice place to hang around, and hopefully talking to someone will lift my mood. I'm so tired though…maybe if I just close my eyes for a moment…_

When Izaya had walked back in the room a few minutes later, tea in hand, Shizuo was all but snoring on the couch.

"Ahh, Shizu-chan, what am I going to do with you. Big oaf.." Izaya sighed, a smile evident on his face.

Shizuo's lips were parted in a calm sense of wholeness; his bleached blond hair contrasting well with his lightly tanned skin. Izaya grabbed a blanket off a nearby chair, laying it over Shizuo's sleeping form. All was quiet in the large apartment as Izaya slowly made his way towards his own bedroom.

"Sweet dreams, my precious monster."

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><p>Short update is short. It's my last week of school, so i've been busy with finals and blahhh.<br>Thanks for the reviews! I enjoy reading all of them ./u/.

This is just to hold you all over while I write the upcoming chapter, which I should have done by sometime this week. Indtil derefter, farvel!


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